Container treatment machines may include labeling machines for applying labels to containers. An example machine is shown in DE 20 2005 005 485 U1, which discloses a machine including a protection door handle with a handle part. Furthermore, a functional element is provided in the example machine, which can be connected to the handle part as an additional component.
In principle, switches may be provided for protective elements of machine units with which the protective element can be released. These switches are usually mounted on a machine frame or elsewhere to ensure that an operator operating the switches cannot grip into moving parts of the machine at the same time.
However, the above approach makes the switches difficult to access. If it is also necessary for an operator to change location after renewed closing of a protective element in order to lock the protective element.
In light of example machines using the above-described approaches, the technical object to be solved is therefore to indicate a container treatment machine for the treatment of containers, in which the device for locking and unlocking a protective element can be reached in an ergonomically favorable manner.
According to the present disclosure, the above-described object is solved at least by a container treatment (e.g., labeling) machine for labeling containers, such as bottles in the beverage-processing industry, having at least one machine unit which in operation can treat containers (e.g., label the containers), and a movable protective element which separates at least part of the at least one machine unit from an environment, the protective element comprising a handle for moving the protective element. The handle of the machine may comprise a pushbutton for locking and/or unlocking (e.g., locking and/or unlocking the machine), which when actuated can selectively release and/or block the movement of the protective element (e.g., depending on the actuation of the pushbutton, as described in examples below). Advantageous further developments of the present disclosure are described below.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, a machine unit may refer to any component of the container treatment machine. In a labeling machine, example machine units may include rotating elements such as gripper cylinders or a machine carousel. In other examples, machine units may additionally or alternatively include linearly working or moving elements. With other container treatment machines, rotating elements such as a carousel on which the containers are transported and treated can also be seen as a machine unit.
A container treatment machine may include inter alia a stretch blow-molding machine for the production or inflation of PET bottles, a filling machine for filling containers, a direct printing machine for printing containers, a coating machine for coating containers, a cleaning or sterilization machine for cleaning or sterilization of containers, inspection machines for inspecting containers, a packaging machine for packaging containers such as outer packaging (film, cardboard), a conveyor for transporting containers (e.g., switches, dividers, transport starwheels, and/or buffers), palletizing machines for palletizing containers, depalletizing machines for depalletizing containers, closing machines for closing containers and the like. Accordingly, treatment can be understood as manufacturing, inflation, printing, coating, cleaning, sterilization, etc. In the following, specific reference is made to a labeling machine, but the features can also be transferred to the other machines mentioned in the present disclosure.
The proposed container treatment machines do not represent an exhaustive list of possible machines. However, the present disclosure is advantageous in combination with these container treatment machines, as there is usually a considerable risk of injury for an operator due to many moving parts and/or high temperatures/hot components. In combination with these specific machines, the present disclosure can therefore advantageously contribute to the protection of the operator and at the same time the accessibility of the machine components.
The fact that the protective element separates a part of the machine unit from the environment has an effect that manual intervention in the machine unit or the part of the machine unit is made more difficult or impossible from outside the protective element. For example, the protective element can be conceived as a box or at least a “fence” separating a space or area inside the protective element (e.g., a volume enclosed by the protection element) from the environment, so that an operator standing in the environment cannot grip into the inner area when the protective element is closed.
The provision of the pushbutton for locking and/or unlocking on the handle ensures that an operator opening or closing the protective element cannot grip into the machine unit. At the same time, the handle is easier for the operator to reach compared to other arrangements, and a delay in locking the protective element can be avoided so that subsequent operators are also prevented from accessing the machine unit during operation.
In one embodiment, the pushbutton is arranged on a side of the handle that faces away from the protective element. The pushbutton is thus more easily accessible to the operator and inadvertent non-actuation can be avoided.
It may also be provided that the pushbutton is arranged so that during operation of the handle it can be pressed to move the protective element. This embodiment also has the advantage of preventing the pushbutton from being forgotten or not being operated for other reasons.
It may also be provided that the pushbutton comprises a button which when actuated once can release the movement of the protective element and which when actuated a second time can block the movement of the protective element. The operation of the pushbutton in this embodiment is configured to promote user friendliness and can be learned by the operator with little practice.
In an alternative embodiment, it is provided that the pushbutton is configured as a dead man's device which only releases the movement of the protective element during actuation of the pushbutton and blocks the movement of the protective element if the pushbutton is not actuated. This prevents the protective element from being inadvertently not locked after it has been closed, in consideration to subsequent operators.
In one embodiment it is provided that the pushbutton is configured as an analog pushbutton or as an electronic pushbutton or switch. Here, an analog pushbutton is to be understood as such a pushbutton whose actuation by mechanical interaction with at least one other element (for example a closing element which can block the movement of the protective element) causes the movement of the protective element to be released or blocked. An electronic pushbutton or switch, on the other hand, is a switch which, at least in interaction with an electronic control unit (e.g., a computer), controls parts of the protective element and/or the labeling machine and releases or unlocks their movement. A mechanical interaction between the pushbutton or switch and these elements may not be included in electronic pushbuttons or switches.
Furthermore, it may be provided that a light element, for example one or more Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), is assigned to the pushbutton, which can output an optical signal if an attempt is made to move the protective element without actuation of the pushbutton. An operator attempting to move the protective element without actuating the pushbutton may not succeed. In order to shorten the troubleshooting process, the optical signal can advantageously inform the operator that the pushbutton is to be actuated to promote movement of the protective element.
Furthermore, it can be provided that the protective element is configured as a protective door with one or more door leaves or as a lift protection segment. The lift protection segment is such a protective element whose movement is substantially or completely in a vertical direction. This also includes a tilting movement around a horizontal tilting axis, during which such a protective element is moved at least partially in a vertical direction. These embodiments can be used advantageously depending on the space available for the labeling machine.
Furthermore, it can be provided that the pushbutton comprises a second button which when actuated can release the operation of the labeling machine. While a first button according to one of the above embodiments, for instance, may control the blocking and release of the movement in a suitable manner, the second button may be used as an additional measure to enable the putting into operation of the machine only after checking whether persons are in the area of the protective element.
In a further development of this example, the pushbutton is configured in such a way that the second button is only able to be actuated in the closed state of the protective element to enable operation of the labeling machine. In this way, it can be prevented that the operation is inadvertently enabled while the protective element is still open.